Crafting a Memory
by KayGe08
Summary: Anise and Kaede share a simple dance. One-shot.


Was cleaning my room and happened to unearth this from the depths of my paper cluttered bookshelf. Think I wrote this almost...seven years ago, when Barajou no Kiss was my favourite Shojou manga. It's still in my top 10 though. Just a one-shot (not really a huge fan of them but some one-shots out there are pretty good). This was a very nostalgic read for me, figured it's a work of mine so why not post it?

* * *

 **Crafting a Memory**

"This. Is. Terrible!" Her high-pitched scream rattles the entire Yamamoto estate.

Ninufu, perched at the top of the mahogany wardrobe falls off in surprise, "Mind my ask, what's matter with Anise?"

The girl blasts rose gold tresses out of her eyes in a single breath, sinking to the floor before her open wardrobe in utter defeat seconds later, "I don't know what to wear." She grumbles, forlorn.

The Formal's tonight!

How could she forget the date when all those posters kept glaring at her all week? The planning committee spared no empty space across school, their neon coloured placards are literally everywhere.

"But," Ninufu floats in front of her face, gesturing to the cumulative assortment of glittering gowns she owned, "Anise has so many."

The grinning creature would never understand, "Yeah but…" She sighs, "I wonder."

"Will Anise be with the Red Rose?" Ninufu's smile carries an unusual cheekiness that wasn't there moments ago.

"Yeah, s-so?" Anise couldn't help her stammer, "We're just going to be the same place at the same time, you're reading into it too much."

"If it's Red Rose he no be bothered with Anise look." The creature settles on her head.

That's a little true.

Anise imagines his visage of disappointment when Kaede sees her tonight, _"Would it kill you to wear something better than that?"_

She shakes the apparition of his face out of her mind, "Stupid…temple boy. I'll show him."

With newfound energy coursing through her veins, Anise gets to work. She'll piece together an ensemble so magnificent, it'll knock the wind right out of that crimson haired idiot.

)*~*(

"Where is that girl?" Don't tell him she forgot her brain upstairs and had to go find it. Kaede's been waiting outside the front door for ten minutes now.

Was this a good idea?

Kaede's apathetic towards this type of thing and Seiran's the one who coaxed him into asking Anise.

Did he even have to?

They're a thing now, right? After all that Rose Knight business, he did become her chosen knight but they never made it official between them. Maybe tonight could be–

"I'm coming!" She yelled the same thing five minutes ago.

"Sure." Kaede pronounced his boredom. Only Anise could get away with thinning out his patience, and Seiran.

The front door opens unexpectedly, "Sorry about the wait. It's been what, five minutes? You'll live. Uhh…Kaede?"

"Wha-?" He snaps out of a stupor he didn't realize he was under, "No problem." He needs to distract his mind, fast, "As expected of miss Anise Yamamoto, the tardiest Princess alive."

"Hey!" Anise pouts, "I am not…that tardy." She folds her arms, turning away from the delectable piece of rare eye candy standing on her bottom step. Anise was expecting something akin to his temple garb, not a tailor-made suit with a deep red dress shirt underneath and matching black tie. Even his hair, slicked back to the sides, shining effervescently under the light of her porch, makes her brain numb.

"Right." He says smugly, grinning at her apparent fluster. Kaede clears the distance separating them, "Give me your hand."

"Why?" She faces him and it was Kaede's turn to look away.

"Just do it." He says, keeping his annoyed tone low. She follows his instruction and Kaede pulls out an ethereal red rose, attaching the delicate flower to her wrist.

An astonished gasp escapes her glossy, strawberry pink lips, "Kaede, it's beautiful." She's seen many roses – Rose Princess, it's a given – but none held such a vivid glow such as this one. It must be something Seiran's been working on.

"Like its owner." He mutters, igniting a touch of scarlet on both their features.

"T-thank you." It takes a few seconds for Anise to recover from Kaede's kind compliment. By the way he appears, the boy standing before her was taken aback as well. A heartfelt smile tugs at her lips. Her hand, securely wrapped around the comforting warmth of Kaede's larger one, drifts up his arm until she hooks their arms together, "Shall we proceed, my Knight?"

"Yeah, yeah." He glances at her lowered head. Anise fails to hide her rosy cheeks, the hint of pink accentuating her entire outfit. A sophisticatedly crafted bun sat atop her head and the lightest brush of make-up paints her already stunning features, the glow of her pink lips near spellbinding. A pair of roses studded her earlobes while the sweetheart neckline of her dress hugs her frame flawlessly, adorned with silver rhinestones and jewels that sparkle like the stars above. The dress in itself appears like a rose with pleats as gentle magenta petals that surround Anise near her knees. Silver shoes add the final piece to the puzzle and Kaede found it hard to swallow all of a sudden.

)*~*(

Greeted by others in the gym, Anise neglects her partner for a little while. Not that they spoke to each other once they left her house. Kaede was silent the entire walk to school, a first. It was weird. Anise favoured his flambouyant yet pessimistic personality.

She quickly waves back to Seiran who's swept away by the crowd of bodies inhabiting the school's gymnasium. Poor guy. Anise searched around for the others. In less than a second, she notices the ever popular Mitsuru. He smiles her way before a screeching flock of females cover him, begging for his undivided attention.

Mutsuki, Mutsuki…where–?

A hand suddenly grabs her own, spinning Anise around. Her bold captor finds her waist with his free hand, "K-Kaede!" Caught off guard, Anise squeaks, flustered once again by the boy's antics. Kaede's warm fingers intertwine with hers. They fall in line with the other bodies surrounding them, everyone slowly swaying to a classical tune with their partner, "Oh, dancing."

"May I, my Dominion?" He asks humbly and she nods dumbly, taking his shoulder.

Kaede's so different than his usual self. It's…kind of nice to see another side to the boy she's grown to l-l-like! Like, that's it.

An enchanting ballad casts a spell of serenity over the atmosphere. Anise melts into the melody's soothing embrace. Her eyes close, she waltzes closer to her partner, his warmth seeping beneath her skin. Anise never realized when her head found rest on Kaede's thumping chest, or when the boy released her hand, deciding to wrap both of his behind her back. Until she opened her eyes, staring into a pair of smoldering rubies.

"Kaede, I…there's something bothering me." Anise is tongue-tied. Under that hungry gaze, who wouldn't be.

"What is it?" He inquires, his lips fall into a straight line.

"Well, you and I are…" She trails off, looking downwards.

"Anise." Kaede's tone is soft, loving, "We were horrible to each other at first, but then we made our relationship that of Princess and Knight. It still is. No matter what happens, I'll always be yours." Her hands, at his back and shoulder, slip away as the sting of rejection takes root.

"You're my Knight and I'm your Princess, yes, but…" Anise lowers her head, "You're way more than that, stupid."

A delicate finger lifts her chin, "I feel the same way, idiot." Kaede's wickedly handsome smirk startles her.

The clatter of silverware draws them both back to reality, where the dancefloor is empty and everyone has lined up for dinner, ogling the lone pair standing in the center of the room like a mainstage performance.

Embarrassing!

"I can't believe everyone was watching!" Red faced, Anise hissed in Kaede's ear from the back of the line.

"It's a memory neither of us, or the rest of the school, will ever forget." Kaede appeared calm on the outside but facepalmed ten thousand times on the inside.

"Well…crafting a memory with you doesn't make it so bad." She gingerly loops her arm around his.

Kaede pulls her close, "Once the Princess falls, her faithful Knight goes down with her."

Anise releases a giggle, "Don't you mean Prince?" Anise steps closer, melding her body heat with his which Kaede didn't mind at all.


End file.
